Mirpur: India skipper Rohit Sharma is all but out of the remainder of the Bangladesh tour, including the Test series as he will be “flying back home” to consult experts after sustaining a finger injury, head coach Rahul Dravid said after the team lost the second ODI and series to the home team.
The coach also informed that injury prone pacer Deepak Chahar and rookie speedster Kuldeep Sen has been ruled out of the third ODI in Chattogram with hamstring and back injuries respectively.
“It (thumb injury) isn’t too great. Some dislocation and some stitches. Fortunately, not a fracture and so, I was able to bat,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation, having scored a valiant half-century, albeit in a losing cause.
However, coach Dravid said that he is not sure whether Rohit will be able to play the Test series starting December 14 in Chattogram.
“Rohit, Kuldeep and Deepak have been ruled out of the third match. Rohit will fly back to Mumbai and consult with an expert and see how it (injured finger) is. We are not in a position to say whether he will be able to play the Test series. It is too early as of now,” Dravid said.
However with Rohit himself confirming dislocation, it will take minimum three to four weeks for him to once again start batting in the nets.
Dravid is always known to take a conservative route when it comes to confirming injuries.
Standing at second slip, Rohit was left with a bloodied hand when he dropped Anamul Haque off Mohammed Siraj in the fourth ball of the second over. He was escorted off the field by the team physio.
He was rushed to a Dhaka hospital for scan and the affected area required multiple stitches during the initial treatment.
“India Captain Rohit Sharma suffered a blow to his thumb while fielding in the 2nd ODI. The BCCI Medical Team assessed him. He has now gone for scans,” the BCCI stated in a media release earlier in the day.
Meanwhile, Chahar’s injury has opened a can of worms. He had sustained stiff hamstring while bowling in the second ODI. He bowled only three overs of his quota.
In fact, this is the third time in last four months that Chahar has had a breakdown.
He was out with hamstring and back injury for close to six months having missed the IPL. On his return, he again felt discomfort after one match against Zimbabwe, and after that during ODI series versus South Africa, he had to be pulled out.
He was also ruled out of the T20 World Cup in Australia due to stiff back.
“There are few injury concerns, we need to get to the bottom of this. Need to try and monitor them, because it’s important to understand this. When they come to play for India, they need to be at more than 100 percent. We need to monitor their workload because we can’t have guys coming in to play for the country half-fit,” Rohit said.
PTI